1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an illumination device.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, optical fibers have been known to be used for illumination devices. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-534565 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1) describes an illumination system in which a semiconductor laser (Laser Diode) is used for a light source, and light emitted from the semiconductor laser is allowed to pass through a light diffusing fiber to excite phosphor in a cover layer disposed surrounding the light diffusing fiber, which allows for emitting diffused light. This illumination system includes a light-reflecting mirror at an end portion of the light diffusing fiber.
Japanese patent publication No. 2000-275444 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 2) describes a light emitting device including an optical fiber having an end surface on which a reflective film is disposed. Similarly to the mirror described in patent document 1, this reflective film reflects light emitted from a semiconductor laser so that the reflected light propagates back to the semiconductor laser.